The papers include drafts of Clarkson's letters to the Comte de Mirabeau and others on slavery; several reports and speeches; and letters addressed to Clarkson from persons in the United States and Great Britain regarding anti-slavery activities.

Thomas Clarkson (1760-1846), the English philanthropist, devoted the major portion of his life to the cause of the abolition of slavery. His energy in organizing anti-slavery societies throughout England helped to arouse the attention of the English people to the inhumanity of the institution of slavery. The present small group of papers may be looked upon as a supplement to the collection of Clarkson Papers in the British Museum (Add. Mss. 41262-41267). Both groups of papers were consulted by Earl Leslie Griggs in the preparation of his biography of Clarkson published in 1936.

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